indivisibilities

indivisibilities

the physical inability, or economic inappropriateness, of running a machine or some other piece of equipment at below its optimal operational capacity. For example, because of design and technical specifications a machine may optimally carry out 4,000 operations per day, it being physically impossible to build two ‘half-machines’ in its stead, each performing only 2,000 operations. Given this situation, a firm requiring, say, a machine which carried out 3,000 operations per day would be forced to invest in the minimum-sized machine of 4,000 operations per day capacity. As a result the machine would be under-utilized and the unit of AVERAGE COST would be greater than if the machine were optimally employed.

Indivisibilities may pose particular problems in the context of a PRODUCTION-LINE operation where a number of processes and machines, each having different optimal capacities, may be required. Suppose a firm needs to combine process A machines capable of carrying out 5,000 operations per day and process B machines capable of carrying out 2,000 operations per day. Only by producing 10,000 units a day, employing two process A machines and five process B machines, would the firm be able to use both types of machine in a cost-effective way. Any output level below this would result in either one or other machine, or both, being under-utilized. See MACHINE UTILIZATION, PRODUCTION-LINE BALANCING.

indivisibilities

the minimum physical or technical size limitations on FACTOR INPUTS. For example, a company wants to purchase a machine that can undertake 5,000 operations a day Because of design and technical difficulties, the minimum-size machine available optimally carries out 10,000 operations a day The machine is indivisible since it cannot be reduced to two optimal half-machines. The AVERAGE COST of each unit of output is consequently greater than it would be if the manufacturer could produce at an output level where the machine was optimally employed. The manufacturer could achieve ECONOMIES OF SCALE by attaining a large volume of production, but this can give rise to problems of combining large, indivisible inputs with different capacities. For example, if the manufacturer above needs to combine process A machines capable of carrying out 10,000 operations a day and process B machines capable of carrying out 4,000 operations a day, then only by producing 20,000 units a day in two process A machines and five process B machines would he be able to use both types of machine in an economically feasible way. Any other output level would result in a degree of under-utilization of one or the other machine. See PRODUCTION FUNCTION.